Reflections on adapting group model building scripts into online workshops

Brooke Wilkerson,Igor Czermainski De Oliveira,Birgit Kopainsky,Lars‐Kristian Lunde Trellevik,Anaely Aguiar,Christina Gkini

doi:10.1002/sdr.1662

Abstract

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Reflections on adapting group model building scripts into online workshops

Highlights

Group model building (GMB) is an important social process in system dynamics (SD) for creating a shared understanding of complex systems and providing a platform for stakeholders to exchange information and ideas (Antunes et al, 2015; Sedlacko et al, 2014)
That we could recreate many of the strengths of an in-person GMB workshop in an online environment
We propose that online GMB, a practice with its own set of strengths and weaknesses, should be further developed as its own set of methodologies parallel to traditional GMB

Summary

Introduction

Group model building (GMB) is an important social process in system dynamics (SD) for creating a shared understanding of complex systems and providing a platform for stakeholders to exchange information and ideas (Antunes et al, 2015; Sedlacko et al, 2014). Adapt standard GMB scripts to online interactions; and Develop and define roles within our group to support the various challenges we could face before, during, and after the workshop. Our positive initial experiences with online GMB indicate that it’s worthwhile to build on and further develop methodologies for online stakeholder engagement. Subsequent phases include a hackathon in which SD students and practitioners use the causal loop diagrams from the workshop to generate models and ideas for policy interventions. In phase three of the project, winning submissions from the hackathon are refined and presented at an “innovation festival” in Bergen

Objectives of the workshop:

Introduction and activity description

Further development and concluding remarks